Labourers need education on high blood pressure, study finds

Abu Dhabi, UAE: Migrant workers urgently need education about hypertension after a study found the majority of sufferers were unaware of their condition.

The study questioned 1,375 male workers from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh living in the UAE. Most were found never to have had their blood pressure tested.

This has prompted researchers to call for more to be done to look after the heart health of those living in labour camps.

Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, can increase the risk of heart attacks or stroke if left untreated.

“The prevalence of hypertension in a representative sample of young male South Asian immigrants living in the UAE was relatively high,” said the study’s co-author Dr Syed Shah, an associate professor at the Institute of Public Health at UAE University.

“However, the awareness, treatment and control of hypertension within this population were very low. Strategies are urgently needed to improve the awareness and control of hypertension in this large population of migrant workers in the UAE.”

The study concentrated on South Asian migrant workers, who make up two thirds of this country’s immigrant population. It questioned 433 Indians, 383 Pakistanis and 559 Bangladeshis in Abu Dhabi, most of whom were living in labour camps. The mean age of those questioned was 34.

Participants were questioned on behavioural-risk factors for hypertension, including unhealthy diet, alcohol intake, smoking, lack of physical activity, excess weight and exposure to persistent stress. They also had their blood pressure tested.

Those who had signs of hypertension were then tested on knowledge, education and awareness of the condition.

The study found that while one in three has hypertension about three quarters of those were unaware of their condition.

Six in 10 of those asked had never had their blood pressure measured.

Less than half (48.5 per cent) of the sample that was aware of their hypertension said they used antihypertensive medication. Only 8.3 per cent had their hypertension under control.

The prevalence of hypertension was higher in Indians compared to Pakistanis and Bangladeshis.

“Alarmingly, 76 per cent of participants classified as hypertensive were not aware of their condition and 62 per cent of study participants had never had their blood pressure examined,” said Dr Shah. “In our study treatment and control of hypertension was very low. This underscores the urgent need for strategies to improve control of hypertension.

“Based on the findings of our study we would like to recommend that blood pressure, height and body mass measurements should be included in the medical screening tests at the time of obtaining or renewing a residency visa for expatriates living in the UAE.”

Workers should also be educated on cardiovascular disease risks and have their blood pressure regularly tested, he said.

Dr Khaliq Khan, at Dubai’s Al Sanaya Medical Clinic, said migrant workers were at higher risk of stress, which can lead to high blood pressure, because of life and work-related pressures.

He believed a clinic should be in every labour camp to educate workers on health matters.

And he said that workers also needed to make time for light exercise, which could help reduce stress and lower blood pressure.